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Quasit laughs. ”Can you see me in some posh upper-crust townhouse or country manor? Man, the swells would hate that. Nah, that’s just not me. I wouldn’t be happy.”
”If I do come out of this alive and with a decent amount of coin, I’m buying a boat and starting up a shipping business. Import/export. I like the ocean. And I like being warm, so I’m afraid Triaxus is out for me, even if they have affordable keeps.”
She blinks and turns to Kalchine. “You’ve probably never seen an ocean, have you?”
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Quasit finishes her cup of tear and holds out the mug for a refill. "Baba Yaga is basically a goddess. She could probably conjure up another Murder Hut for you if you wanted and if she was so inclined. I doubt she's really the 'lending' type."
"Frankly I'd be happier sharing a cozy little beach house with some hammocks, a lot of fruit and a nice half orc cabana boy to give me foot rubs... and other sorts of rubs occasionally. But to each their own."
"I'm definitely going to ask her for a flying boat that's bigger on the inside and has chicken legs." Maka replied as she refilled Quasit's cup. "These banana boys you keep talking about sure sound nice. Do they do other stuff or is it just the fruit and the rubs?"
"Do you not have enough money and valuables to buy a nice home? Together? You could certainly buy a tower or keep on my world, though there is an eternal war there so it wouldn't be much of a retirement."
"How would we visit all of our homes and keep adventuring if we retired in some tower!?" Maka shook her head at the thought.
”If I do come out of this alive and with a decent amount of coin, I’m buying a boat and starting up a shipping business. Import/export. I like the ocean. And I like being warm, so I’m afraid Triaxus is out for me, even if they have affordable keeps.”
"That's smart, my boat might have to hatch and grow for awhile."
"I've seen an ocean, but, other than a few holes where you can see the water underneath and signs to warn you when you're on thin ice, there's not much difference between an ocean and a lake and a patch of rock most of the time," Kalchine says with a shrug.
He cocks his head to the side. "I thought we were all going to live together," he answers Maka. "Maybe we can find a keep on a borderland somewhere together and adventure there."
"We are all going to live together, on the boat!" Maka exclaimed. "We need a home that can move but also has room for everyone and the banana boys."
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"These banana boys you keep talking about sure sound nice. Do they do other stuff or is it just the fruit and the rubs?"
Quasit give a blithe shrug. "I suppose it depends how much you pay them." she answers cheekily.
"How would we visit all of our homes and keep adventuring if we retired in some tower!?" Maka shook her head at the thought.
Quasit smiles and sips some more tea, but doesn't actually respond. It was nice to think that she and Maka and Sakitu and the others might all stay close in the years to come. No reason to dwell on the reality that it probably wouldn't happen. Without this bizarre quest driving them all on together, it seemed inevitable that they'd all go their separate ways eventually. Fortunately Kalchine responds instead.
He cocks his head to the side. "I thought we were all going to live together," he answers Maka. "Maybe we can find a keep on a borderland somewhere together and adventure there."
Quasit shakes her head. "Nope. I'm hanging up my swords after this. Eventually my luck would run out and I'd end up dead, and I'm too young and pretty to die. Plus, all this trudging around and killing things is not my idea of fun. I wanna just be lazy and rich and happy. I'll leave the searches for temples of elemental evil or whatever to you guys."
Quasit shakes her head. "Nope. I'm hanging up my swords after this. Eventually my luck would run out and I'd end up dead, and I'm too young and pretty to die. Plus, all this trudging around and killing things is not my idea of fun. I wanna just be lazy and rich and happy. I'll leave the searches for temples of elemental evil or whatever to you guys."
"You can be lazy and rich and happy on the boat! Besides I have to make sure you eat and you have to make sure I don't get into too much trouble!" While a nice long vacation was one thing, Quasit leaving the group was simply not a scenario Maka was willing to entertain.
All is quiet as you head north, save for the fading sounds of a giant chicken-legged hut crashing through the forest. After a few minutes you hear the soldiers and battle wagons heading back to the camp.
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It’s quiet in the woods as Fin warily leads his friends north, his mood tampered down by both the cold and his focus on scouting. While he is alert for any signs of danger, he can’t help but hear snippets of his friends’ conversations…while he remains silent himself, he somberly ponders over the Hut, the Headless Horseman, and his future…
"These banana boys you keep talking about sure sound nice. Do they do other stuff or is it just the fruit and the rubs?"
Fin almost snorts aloud. Banana boys? That’s a double entendre if I ever heard one…but I doubt Maka intended it…or did she?
"We are all going to live together, on the boat!""
While Fin highly doubts that’ll ever happen, it reminds him of his years of rafting and trading along the waterways of the River Kingdoms, over two of them with Kezhia. Simpler times…bloody damn Razmirans…
"Nope. I'm hanging up my swords after this…"
Fin is not surprised by Quasit’s revelation. Erastil bless her, she’s consistent. Q’s always been open about her desire for riches and half-Orc cabana boys…or ‘banana boys’ as Maka says, he recalls with a slight smile…
Hmmm…not sure I’ll survive this ‘adventure.’ If I do, what then? I’m very fond of Sakitu…but her family is of high social standing and wealthy, they will not approve of a wanderer with no family or social standing like me…I will not make her choose between me and her family…guess I’ll cross that bridge if, or when, we get to it...
"…all this trudging around and killing things is not my idea of fun."
Hearing this strikes a nerve in Fin. Definitely not fun…but it appears I’m good at killing…is it all I’m good for? When this is all over, should I go back to River Kingdoms and hunt down Razmiran enforcers? Or perhaps to the Worldwound to slay Demons as a Mendavian crusader? Or a personal crusade against the Undead, perhaps even returning to the tomb where his Father was slain? Maybe the Mummy is still undead, he shudders at the thought before hearing something that jarred his line of thought…
All is quiet as you head north, save for the fading sounds of a giant chicken-legged hut crashing through the forest. After a few minutes you hear the soldiers and battle wagons heading back to the camp.
Upon hearing the battle wagons and soldiers retreat, Fin signals for his friends to stop. He stealthily moves to the tree line to make visual confirmation; upon getting it, he looks back to Quasit. ”The enemy force is retreating back to the camp, Q. Do we set up camp? Or do we go back, find the Hut, and rest up there?”
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Sakitu watches Fin's demeanor get darker and darker. She's always known he has been hiding something. Despite how close they are, there's always been a part of him, his history, that he's always kept her shielded from. Not that he has said anything explicitly or even acted out in overt ways. But a woman knows and senses.
"He seems pretty upset." she confides quietly to Sakitu.
Sakitu nods, still watching Fin as he leaves.
"I know but I don't know why. Even in our times together he is reluctant to share so much of his past." Sakitu finds a snow covered fallen log to sit on. "He's not trying to keep it from me. It's just that he avoids talking about some things. Of course I don't pry, but I know there is something there that hurts him. I know I could help him, if he would open up."
A clump of snow on the branches above falls down and lands on Sakitu's lap but she ignores it and continues to stare off into the woods in the direction Fin left. He always looks so good and full of life. His attitude is always so positive. But she knows that buried deep within is something dark. Not dark and malevolent but dark and sad. Immeasurable grief.
"Well, I can only hope I bring some joy into his life. Maybe even enough joy that he can allow the pain of the past to surface." Sakitu jumps up from the log and brushes the snow off her legs now. Her previously sad face transitioning to the happy and smiling face everyone is used to seeing. "Right? That's how I can help. But now, what do we do? We're still hiking further away from the soldiers, right?"
Maka walks up and the conversation quickly turns to food. Sakitu happily takes the trail rations and tea that Maka offers.
Before long Fin returns and begins leading them north.
Upon hearing the battle wagons and soldiers retreat, Fin signals for his friends to stop. He stealthily moves to the tree line to make visual confirmation; upon getting it, he looks back to Quasit. ”The enemy force is retreating back to the camp, Q. Do we set up camp? Or do we go back, find the Hut, and rest up there?”
Sakitu stops with the others and looks to Quasit.
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”The enemy force is retreating back to the camp, Q. Do we set up camp? Or do we go back, find the Hut, and rest up there?”
"They are?" says Quasit, turning to look back south though her non-elfin hearing and sight aren't nearly good enough for her to perceive this for herself. "Well poop. I didn't expect them to give up so easily." She keeps staring south and thinks for a moment, then sighs.
"No, let's keep going north and make a camp. Who knows how far Cluckers will run? And maybe at least Goldilocks and her bears will follow the Hut instead of coming after us."
She turns to the elf. "Looks like you might get your wish after all, Fin. Headless guy will no doubt be on patrol back at the camp tomorrow, or at least expecting us to come back. Which means he's probably going to get in our way before we're through."
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"I know but I don't know why. Even in our times together he is reluctant to share so much of his past." Sakitu finds a snow covered fallen log to sit on. "He's not trying to keep it from me. It's just that he avoids talking about some things. Of course I don't pry, but I know there is something there that hurts him. I know I could help him, if he would open up."
Quasit considers this. It hadn't occurred to her that something in Findurel's past might be haunting him in regards to the undead horseman.
"Hmm. Maybe. I thought he just disagreed about the wisdom of letting that undead horseman go unfought, but it might go deeper than that. It's not often that I've seen Fin... like, actually angry about something."
She turns to Sakitu. "It always kinda blows me away the way he's willing to defer to me, honestly. He says it's because he trusts my judgment, but it might be closer to the truth to say he doesn't trust his own." She shakes her head. "There's a core of guilt in him. About that girl Kezhia, and his father. He thinks he let them down. You can't talk a man out of that sort of thing. There's a sort of pride in the way they nurse their pain. All you can do is let them know that you love them anyway, if they show it to you."
"My dad was that way. It's why he drank. He couldn't forgive himself for letting us down and getting his hand chopped off. None of us blamed him... well, I didn't. Maybe my mom did. But we couldn't talk him out of it. He was trapped in it and couldn't let it go. Just pride."
She shakes her head again, and stops herself. She hadn't meant to start talking about this. But her father was still forefront in her mind, and it tended to intrude itself.
"Fin'll tamp that anger back down again inside himself before too long. He doesn't like to feel out of control. That's pride too. Best to let it lie. Someday he'll be ready to talk to you about it. He's a good man. He just needs reminding sometimes."
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"No, let's keep going north and make a camp. Who knows how far Cluckers will run? And maybe at least Goldilocks and her bears will follow the Hut instead of coming after us."
Fin nods. ”We shouldn’t need to go too much further north…still haven’t seen any more tracks or signs of the bears and their master…and the attack force is moving further away from us…”
She turns to the elf. "Looks like you might get your wish after all, Fin. Headless guy will no doubt be on patrol back at the camp tomorrow, or at least expecting us to come back. Which means he's probably going to get in our way before we're through."
His Elven eyes flash momentarily. ”Aye, Q…damn near had him dead at the camp…but the bloody bastard disappeared before I could finish him off…won’t make the same mistake next time. ”
He looks to the north, murmuring, ”I had best get back to scouting; I’ll stop once I find a good place to camp…”
Fin leads ‘em north for ‘bout 30 minutes before finding a small clearing surrounded by tall, thick trees. When his friends arrive, he says, ”This place is as good as we’ll find; gonna be cold as a witch’s teat, though; might want to sleep close together to stay warm. Since I have this ring and was able to grab a couple hours sleep back at the Hut, I’m fully rested; I’ll stand watch tonight so each of you can get some uninterrupted sleep and recover your spells and such. Maka, you might want to make a small campfire while I make a quick check around the perimeter…”
He goes to Sakitu, bends down and brushes his lips against hers. ”Stay warm, Hlao-roo; you might want to cuddle up with Q tonight like y’all used to, might get a little frosty tonight…”
Fin’ll draw his bow and make a quick check around their camp site…
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He goes to Sakitu, bends down and brushes his lips against hers. ”Stay warm, Hlao-roo; you might want to cuddle up with Q tonight like y’all used to, might get a little frosty tonight…”
As Fin approaches Sakitu, she wraps her arms around his neck and doesn't let go. "But what about you? Couldn't I just cuddle up with you tonight? I'm sure that someone else could take watch."
The first thing that Kalchine does when they find a camp spot is find a good spot near the center for Chest Thumper to get comfortable.
As the frost ape circles to pack down the snow before flopping down, wiggling a bit and then curling up to sleep, Kalchine walks directly away from him. After 4 paces or so, he extends a hand out in front of himself.
He stops mid stride after another pace or so then slowly walks with that hand out, making a loop with about a 15' radius around the ape in the center.
"Stay in the circle and it shouldn't be bad," he says to the group.
And, indeed, anyone closer than 15' from Chest Thumper, while not exactly warm, does not feel the chill of the winter surrounding them.
With his task done, he goes to sit next to his brother.
"Are witch's teats particularly cold? Is it a side effect of how they can do magic? Are they cold even when the rest of a witch is warm? Is it uncomfortable?"
He looks curiously at Selena. But equally so at Fin. After all, he knows that the man has a romantic bond with Sakitu and he suspects that he once did with Maka from things that have been said, so it does not seem like much of a stretch that he might also have intimate knowledge of Selena's body.
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"Are witch's teats particularly cold?"
Fin can’t help but snort as Kal’s quip lightens his mood a tad. ”Aye, my friend; colder than gale force winds during a blizzard in a Triaxian winter,” he says with a wink.
As Fin approaches Sakitu, she wraps her arms around his neck and doesn't let go. "But what about you? Couldn't I just cuddle up with you tonight?"
Fin’s eyes melt. ”My heart lifts to hear you say that…there’s nothing I’d like more. Erastil only knows what you see in me, Hlao-roo,” he says lightly before giving her a deeper and more passionate kiss…
"I'm sure that someone else could take watch."
…coming up for air a minute or so later, whispering lightly in her ear, ”…but I’m afraid I can’t…with my ring, I get a full night’s sleep in only a couple of hours. The rest of you need that sleep to recover from wounds and fatigue, not to mention your to renew your spells. If you cuddle up with me tonight, I’ll be too tempted to…do more…than just cuddle. And then you might not get any sleep at all…perhaps next time we camp…”
Before heading on his perimeter check, Fin turns to Quasit. ”One other thing to consider, Q; we might want to look for Anastasia prior to disabling that damn infernal machine…”
"Are witch's teats particularly cold? Is it a side effect of how they can do magic? Are they cold even when the rest of a witch is warm? Is it uncomfortable?"
He looks curiously at Selena.
Fin can’t help but snort as Kal’s quip lightens his mood a tad. ”Aye, my friend; colder than gale force winds during a blizzard in a Triaxian winter,” he says with a wink.
Selena's face turned a bright red before she slammed her foot down. "That is more than enough about witch's teats!" The halfling whisper shouted before stomping off a short distance and summoning a small igloo of snow around her. From which muffled sounds of frustration could be heard for several minutes.
"Don't talk about Selena's teats!" Maka chided the boys as she built a small fire.
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"Are witch's teats particularly cold?"Fin can’t help but snort as Kal’s quip lightens his mood a tad. ”Aye, my friend; colder than gale force winds during a blizzard in a Triaxian winter,” he says with a wink.
"Pffft. Fin, don't tease the alien." says Quasit briskly, playing her part in the gag. "It's just an expression Kal, not arcane lore. Though the kingdom of the witches in our world is off in the wintery north, so it might be some allusion to that. But you know how people are, they make up all sorts of scary legends and stories about witches to scare kids and amuse friends -- witches make marvelous bogeymen because they seem like normal people, but they have spooky little uncanny details about them that hint at their supernatural power."
She sets up her bedroll near Chest Thumper, using the great ape to block the wind. "I'm not sure we should have a campfire. Goldilocks might still be on our trail. And they might even spot the smoke at the camp." But she shrugs, as if to say she's not going to push the issue. She settles fully clothed under her blankets, though she removes her swords and slips them under her pack, which she uses as a pillow. As she continues to speak with her friends, she half-reclines, cheek resting in one palm propped up on one elbow.
She watches Findurel and Sakitu making googly eyes at each other and smiles approvingly.
Before heading on his perimeter check, Fin turns to Quasit. ”One other thing to consider, Q; we might want to look for Anastasia prior to disabling that damn infernal machine…”
Quasit's smile fades. "And then do what with her? If ghost momma is to be believed, she's a young child, like 9 or 10 or 11 years old. Are we going to bring her with us to be lightning zapped or fireballed or filled with bullets? What if one of these monsters grabs her and threatens to kill her unless we surrender? What if in spite of everything, the girl doesn't want to stand by and watch us murder her father?"
"If we happen to find her, we'll do all we can to protect her and help her. But I'm not sure it's a good idea to go out of our way looking for her. The longer we spend moving around the camp, the more likely we are to be discovered and for a general alarm to be raised. And at the end of the day, the best way to save Anastasia is for Rasputin to die."
"Ideally we'll find her after we deal with him, and stow her safely in the Hut. And then ... she's an orphan and the child of a deposed monarch, I'm not sure what we do with her or who we can leave her with. Do we take her with us to Golarian? I just don't know what the right thing to do will be."
"Besides, if I goof up and can't turn off the machine, I might destroy several dimensions and render this whole question moot." She crumples up a tiny snowball in one hand and tosses it at Bulvi as she speaks.
She sets up her bedroll near Chest Thumper, using the great ape to block the wind. "I'm not sure we should have a campfire. Goldilocks might still be on our trail. And they might even spot the smoke at the camp."
"Okay." Maka replied as she snuffed out the fire, which had only been for the comfort of others. "If anyone gets too cold just snuggled up with me."
Not wanting to undo her hair while enemies were about, Maka did a light version of her nightly routine. Once finished, she laid out Bulvi and her's bedrolls before cuddling up.
"Ideally we'll find her after we deal with him, and stow her safely in the Hut. And then ... she's an orphan and the child of a deposed monarch, I'm not sure what we do with her or who we can leave her with. Do we take her with us to Golarian? I just don't know what the right thing to do will be."
"Well we can't just leave her so we'll just have to find her and keep her safe. If we can't figure anything out then my monastery will raise her until she can take care of herself. Also she's Selena's cousin or something so maybe Selena can take her home? Wait...if she's Rasputin's daughter and Rasputin is Baba Yaga's son, wouldn't that make Anastasia like...way ahead in line for the throne." Maka certainly wasn't going to do brain math right before bed.
"Besides, if I goof up and can't turn off the machine, I might destroy several dimensions and render this whole question moot." She crumples up a tiny snowball in one hand and tosses it at Bulvi as she speaks.
"Don't worry, that won't happen." Maka said with absolute certainty. Reflexively she blocked the snowball before beginning to build one of her own.
There are no further disturbances during the night.
Bulvi waits til Quasit's back is turned and tosses a small snowball at the back of her head. He cuddles up beside Maka. "I remember there was some talk before about getting a boat... though a flying one as you said seems possible these days. If that happens after a bit of rest in Taldo where this all started I'd like to visit a few places, particularly Maka's homeland."
"I know you are homesick and would love to meet your family. Not wandering adventurers, just live off our wealth subsidized by a little trading. I wont go charging off looking for trouble but I'm sure we'll find a little every now and then but we are no push overs at this point."
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It seemed to Quasit that she had no sooner fallen asleep when she was awakened by what she was sure was a snake slithering through her hair.
She awakes with a start and gurgles "Snow snakes!" in a sleepy croaking voice and flips about reflexively onto her back to find Chest Thumper gently pawing through her hair for some reason. She groans and wearily pushes his hands away. "Thumperrrrrr..." she complains with the irritability of the newly awakened, then looks about and notices that its already well after sunrise, and perhaps even mid-morning, though it was hard to tell exactly with all the trees and the grey overcast sky,
She creaks herself up into a sitting position and just sits there for a long time, breathing. Sure enough Chest Thumper sneakily begins going through her hair again, which makes her shake her head violently, like a wet dog. The albino ape retreats with a few alarmed hoots... or perhaps he was laughing? Quasit couldn't really tell sometimes.
Stiff and surly, she peels away her blanket and levers herself into a standing position, arches her back, and looks around to see who else might be awake. It seems like pretty much everyone is. She yawns deeply and makes a vague wave of greeting, then digs into her pack for her toothbrush, staggers off to a tree just outside the camp, leans a shoulder into it, and while facing away into the woods begins to saw away at her teeth.
Slowly her thoughts reassemble and she assesses where they are and what they have to do. There was plenty of time until darkness fell again. Part of her just wanted to go back to the camp right away and finish the job and be done with all this, one way or the other, though she also felt in almost equal amounts the inertia of dread at the idea of going back to that wretched playground of horrors and its spitting death machine. She holds out her non-toothbrushing hand and looks into her palm thoughtfully, then sighs.
After 10 minutes of brushing aimlessly at her teeth, she wanders back to the camp.
"No sign of Goldilocks?" she says to Findurel.
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"No sign of Goldilocks?" she says to Findurel.
Fin shakes his head. ”Nope…it’s been quiet as a mouse…they must’ve went back to the camp with the rest of the soldiers…”
He sighs, his breath emerging like a frosty fog. “We gonna head straight to the camp, Q? Their attacking the Hut came at a bad time…I was going to put in a request to our space merchant for some more ghost salt…”
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Quasit nods. "We actually have some time. I think it would be best to go back into the camp under cover of darkness again. Perhaps we should spend the day tracking down the Hut. Then you can contact the merchant and we can retrieve Miroslav--the more I think about it, the more I think it might be smart to have him along to help us with the machine."
"What do you think?"
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Fin ponders but a moment before answering. ”Aye…with the enemy retreating back to camp, I think that be the wise choice, Q. You had a good plan, though…
“Once we get back, we can heal up, talk Miroslav into helping us with the ‘machine’, and I can get more ghost salt in case we face any more of those bloody incorporeal undead bastards. Not to mention it’ll give Selena more time to stew over her cold teats,” he says with a smirk…
After a good night's sleep, Kalchine gets up refreshed, renewed and relieved that they hadn't been attacked in the night.
"Are we going to wait until nightfall to infiltrate the camp again?" he asks, first.
Then, he goes about checking on everyone to make sure they're at full strength. There's no need to go into battle wounded, if you don't need to.
I remember there was some talk before about getting a boat... though a flying one as you said seems possible these days. If that happens after a bit of rest in Taldo where this all started I'd like to visit a few places, particularly Maka's homeland."
"I know you are homesick and would love to meet your family. Not wandering adventurers, just live off our wealth subsidized by a little trading. I wont go charging off looking for trouble but I'm sure we'll find a little every now and then but we are no push overs at this point."
"Oh I can't wait for you to meet my..." Maka only just stopped herself from mentioning her dad, not wanting to upset Quasit. "Everyone? Yeah, everyone!"
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Maka warmed up more trail rations before passing them out for breakfast. "Well I want to find Cluckers, but the vampires would be easier to deal with in the day right?"
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"Are we going to wait until nightfall to infiltrate the camp again?"
Quasit nods. "I think that's best. This is still a stealth mission, and the majority of people defending the place are just normal humans with guns. Especially once we start going for the towers, we want it to be hard for them to see us."
"Well I want to find Cluckers, but the vampires would be easier to deal with in the day right?"
"Yeah, probably, but I think we would have run into them by now if they were roaming the camp. I think they might be with Rasputin in the other dimension. So first things first -- we need to turn off the machine, and probably deal with the Headless Horseman, who's gonna be looking for us. He seems to be the lieutenant in charge when Rasputin is gone.
"Once the machine is off, then we make new plans. I'm not sure exactly what's going to happen, but from talking to Miroslav and looking at the blueprints, I think whatever place Rasputin is hiding in is going to shunt back into this world, probably right on top of that ruined church."
"Okay." Maka replied with all the casualness of having decided what was for dinner. "Let's go find Clucker's then. It's too bad we don't have a bear for him."
The Hut's trail is scarcely difficult to follow, but Fin hasn't gone down it for long before he notices a number of hastily-concealed bear traps between the fallen trees.
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Seeing the traps, Fin throws up a hand for his friends to stop; he looks around cautiously for any signs of ‘Goldilocks’ and the bears, thinking they could be nearby as these traps were hidden hastily…
then turns back to Quasit, waving her cautiously forward…
”Bear traps, Q,” he whispers as he points them out. ”…hastily hidden…your Goldilocks could have laid them quickly before they made their retreat or she and her bears may still be nearby. I’ll point out any traps as we press on but will move slowly as we need to be wary for an ambush; tell the others to go single file, following in my footsteps…and stay alert…”
He then turns and continues stealthily forward, following the clear tracks of the Hut…
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"So much for Goldilocks being a potential ally." says Quasit as she crosses her arms.
"Assuming our bear hunter friend only has limited traps, this could mean that Goldilocks might be watching us right now, hoping we get caught in her little ambush. Or maybe she just left the traps here to foil any pursuit."
"Let's make sure we stick together, and everyone keep your eyes peeled. For now we stay on the Hut's trail. Like Fin says, stay single file."
Kalchine's ears flick in agitation and he frowns intently as he sees the traps.
"What sort of person uses traps designed specifically to capture and injure creatures that they travel with?" he asks, shaking his head in sad wonder and looking thoughtfully at Chest Thumper.
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"What sort of person uses traps designed specifically to capture and injure creatures that they travel with?"
”Beats me Kal. Not a nice one, anyway. Maybe we can ask them when they works up the courage to finally attack us. We’re lucky we have Fin with us, he’s obviously a sharper woodsman than Goldilocks.”
”You know, Fin said the traps were hastily hidden. That might mean Goldilocks put them down just before we got here. If three bears suddenly come running at us, do you have Druid tricks to … I don’t know— dissuade them? Befriend them?”
Fin does see some movement... on both sides of the path. Maybe bears on the left and a person on the right? They're a ways into the woods, it's hard to see them clearly.
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Immediately noticing movement on both sides of the path, Fin remains calm, not showing signs of having seen them…he whispers to Quasit…
”Ambush…Goldilocks to the right, bears to the left…I’m targeting Goldie…be ready to move when I fire…and warn the others…”
Fin quickly turns in place, to his right, and fires a cold iron arrow at the partially concealed hunter…
Kalchine nods. "I might be able to keep one in place. And might be able to calm them if their master doesn't have too tight a grip on them," he replies.
He studies the forest around them for clues as to their opponents' locations and actions.
Fin, stealthy as he is, is able to get a shot in on the human before she can react.
Fin's arrows (save for the last) strike home, but just seem to make the human angry. She snarls as she charges forwards into the opening, where you can make out the bizarre spiked armor she wears all over her body. From the other side, her bears also charge forward.
"Kal, ask the bears to be friends!" Maka shouted before launching a blast of blue flame at the hunter. The fire monk made sure to stay in place to leave herself as a target for the bears in case they didn't want to be friends.